NETA Reload

Dear Self,

  Please read this in August and again in November and again in January or any other times throughout the year when you need to reload and push yourself to be a better teacher and parent. As usual, NETA this year was a great experience. Keynote speakers Adam Bellow (@adambellow) and George Couros (@gcouros) were inspiring. 

Adam had us think about rethinking education. A few key points that I want to remember: Give yourself permission to take risks; failure sparks curiosity; failure is not permanent; actions speak louder than buzzwords; and finally, the big question, If you send a lit match to school, is school extinguishing the lit match?  How can I be the change that makes things better? Create it, share it, improve it. 

George brought this mom of 3 and many others to tears.  For those of you that know me, you know that, is a feat in itself. Here are a few things I want to remember: All kids need different things from us.  If a kid hugs you, never let go first, they will hug you as long as they need you (this is hard for me but I'm going to get better); surround yourself with passionate people; technology will never replace great teachers, but technology in the hands of great teachers can be transformational; isolation is a choice teachers make, you need to make connections; if you want to inspire meaningful change you have to make a connection to the heart before you can make a connection to the mind; give kids space to innovate, create and share their learning; students should be moving from consumption to meaningful creation; if we teach students just the curriculum we have failed them, we need more than better students, we need better people.  Building relationships and telling our stories are key. 

So now, after all of that, here is my NETA to do list:

Blended Learning/Flipped Classroom in math 

Create interactive videos and activities for students to go beyond the curriculum. Help them relate and create. Organize my classroom with Schoology, iTunesU or Google Classroom.  

Interactive Math Wall

Use the app Aurasma to give my math wall a "Harry Potter" effect.

184 days of learning

Tweet something new you learn each school day no matter how big or small

Apps/Websites

Floors - Turns drawings into video games

1 Second Everyday - records a 1 sec video everyday then creates a short video with the clips

Deliver - change the content on a QR code instead of the code

Touchcast App - creating videos

About.me

Pixiclip

OSMO - I want one!

Seriouslyamazing.si.edu

Google.com/alerts - what are people saying about you?

Tweetping.net - shows live tweets happening across the world

Quizzizz - similar to Kahoot

Okay I think that's it for now. Happy to have it all written down. Is there something I'm missing? Would love for you to share great ideas you have after attending NETA.